Attempts have been made in the packaging industry to provide customers with a convenient sealed container that allows both easy access to the goods in the container and a possibility of resealing the package. Such packages are useful in the medical industry as well as many other applications. For example, moistened towelettes may be dispensed in a reclosable packet, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,156,493 and 4,185,754. Although the packages in these patents offer resealing, the snap-open lid may be difficult to handle for people with arthritis or with limited coordination.
A handy dispensing package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,676,430 and 4,550,834. In those patents, a contanier with a tear-away portion of the top panel is disclosed. Removal of the tear-away portion converts the container into a tray with an open top for dispensing product. Although the packaging disclosed in these patents offers easy access to the product, it does not allow resealing of the package.
A common way to dispense products is the use of a tray contained in drawer-like fashion within a sleeve. Pulling the tray partially out of the sleeve allows easy access to the contents of the tray; pushing the tray back into the sleeve closes off the access opening. The sleeves may be stacked one on top of another so that many trays may be stored in a small area. Although such tray storage offers convenience and some protection for the product, it does not offer a tightly sealed package.
One way to offer a sealed container is the use of a film or foil cover adhered across the access opening of the container. An example of a tray-like container having a film cover is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,229. The film cover there extends past the end of the tray and is connected to a lid. Thus, the film cover serves as a seal for the tray and a hinge for the lid. The problem with the package disclosed in this patent lies in trying to remove the film cover. Removal of such adhered covers, made of aluminum or plastic foil, may be difficult even for the highly coordinated. First, breaking the initial seal can be difficult. In addition, the foil may be slippery and hard to grip. Strong adhesives add further difficulty because the cover does not easily release from the adhesive. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,897,962 to Zackheim and 5,002,223 to Bolte disclose packages with tabs to aid in removing a cover. Zackheim discloses a multi-compartment package where each of the compartments is sealed and the seal for each compartment may be opened without contaminating other compartments. The compartments are sealed by a thin cover which has perforations to separate the covers on the different compartments. The separate compartments are provided with a rigid end that breaks away with the sealing cover and provides a handle with which to remove the cover. Bolte discloses a package with an outwardly projecting opening tab. The foil tab is attached to a tear-away foil cover and provides a means for starting the tear and a handle to pull the cover off. Although the tabs disclosed in each of these references aid in handling the foil removal, the tabs do not aid in breaking the seal between the cover and the container. Instead, the tab breaks away from an initial position and provides a handle to remove the cover.
Thus, there is a need for an easier means for removing adhered film covers. In addition, there is a need for a convenient resealing means for a package, particularly one that can be used with a tray which slides out of a sleeve to dispense product from time to time.